I almost hate to write this as it’ll be outdated next year. To make matters worse, there’s a lot of debate about what can be factored into the height of a skyscraper (antennas at the top being just one aspect of debate). In 2009, it won’t really matter as the world’s tallest building (regardless of antennas or other crowning structures) will be completed. It is the United Arab Emirates’ Burj Dubai, in the city of Dubai. Check out the link and click on the image of the tower at the Burj Dubai official page to see how all the other buildings stack up!
Until the Burj Dubai is complete, the top 3 list in no particular order is -
The Sears Tower, if you count its towering antenna, stands at 1,730ft
The Taipei 101 if you permit the spire, it stands at 1,671ft
The Petronas Towers with spires stands at 1,483ft
So that’s them in order, right? Not so fast. Many people do not accept the antenna at the top of the Sears Tower as “measurable” for the record. As such, the Sears is often considered the 3rd tallest building. One could also argue that the spires on other buildings shouldn’t be considered and only habitable space should be counted. So, you can see the question is a tough one to answer.
The Burj Dubai will tower above all the others regardless of antennas and spires and will stand at a staggering 1,980 + feet! At least we’ll finally have an undisputed winner.